rules Page 2 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Florida Panthers faceplanted in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final

It’s not that the Florida Panthers haven’t faced adversity in this playoff run. They were down 3-1 to the Bruins. But then, nothing was expected of them, so it’s not like they had much to lose. They certainly do now, so close to the parade, and they certainly appeared intent on losing it all in Game...

Latest NHL marathon game should’ve barely lasted past regulation

You know that NHL playoff game that ended right before 2 a.m. Eastern? The one where Carolina and Florida still looked composed after nearly 140 minutes on the Raleigh ice and a Matthew Tkachuk goal with 12.7 seconds left in the fourth overtime, saving those brave souls who didn’t pass out from more...

It’s not supposed to be that easy, Connor

The NHL playoffs like to revel in its celebration of depth and the unsung. Everyone gets a shift, so everyone had better do a job or more, and the puck can bounce onto anyone’s stick or off anyone’s ass to change a game, a series, a whole spring. It is not always a stage for the leading men to provi...

Don’t threaten me with responsibility after a big win

The SEC is threatening extreme punishment for fanbases who rush the field or court after big home wins. Two of the potential repercussions are an immediate forfeiture of the win that’s being celebrated, or ceding the rights to the winner’s next home game between the two teams. So LSU’s win over Alab...

Just pre-tack the baseball already

You have to give MLB and its umpires credit. There really isn’t anyone more hilarious to eject over sticky substances on his hand than Max Scherzer. No one’s going to look more ridiculous arguing their case, everyone in the stadium is going to know exactly what’s going on, and if you want to make an...

Great news — Rob Manfred has more ideas on how to 'fix' the game

Major League Baseball has certainly gotten its plaudits for the rule changes for the 2023 season, mostly because it’s sped up the game to well under three hours. Strikeouts and walks are still about where they’ve always been, but more grounders are getting through (strangely from right-handed hitter...

MLB’s rule changes have made baseball more like itself

One week into the MLB season, the rule changes are by and large a huge success. It seems that fans and players alike overwhelmingly like the changes. ...

Manny Machado getting run over arguing a pitch-clock K is objectively funny

There was bound to be an adjustment period as MLB entered the pitch clock era, and my question is, did basketball handle the implementation of the shot clock as poorly as this? Manny Machado was the first player to earn a strike via clock violation in spring training, and he became the first player ...

Presenting the ‘You Gotta Be Kidding Me’ Team from opening day of March Madness

If you’re like me — an NBA fan who pivots to college basketball for a few weeks in March — the best part of the NCAA tournament is the unknown. What I don’t know about draft stock, a coach, a player, a team, or anything, makes the discovery all the more entertaining....

College ump made a call so bad, he's been indefinitely suspended

Somewhere Fred VanVleet is smiling and cursing happily after a subpar official received his just due. The University of New Orleans defeated Mississippi Valley State 7-3 in a college baseball game on Friday. As the college basketball season is heating up, millions of people still found time to view ...

Talk about speeding up the game

The traditions involved with going to a baseball game are unbeatable. Even if you’re not a fan of the game, enjoying a day out of the house and talking with friends and/or family about life while everyone around you partakes in a singular activity that they can root and cheer for is always a grand t...

Zack Greinke shakes himself off, a cat on the diamond — Spring Training has been <i>weird</i> [Updated]

Every year, MLB spring training provides some sort of insight into the upcoming season, whether it be emerging stars or the adoption of new rule changes. Well if the early goings of this year’s spring training are any indicator, we’re in for some wild times. I’m at the point where nothing on my Twit...

Is the new pitch clock good for baseball?

It's Day 2 of spring training games and the pitch clock is already wreaking havoc

The new rules set for the upcoming MLB season are sure to change baseball forever, and the most impactful change will undoubtedly be the introduction of the pitch clock. Twenty seconds maximum between each pitch. Games are flying by, and with pace-of-play being an enormous talking point surrounding ...

The good and bad of college football's potential rule changes

As part of what appears to be a player safety initiative, the NCAA Rules Committee is considering changing a few rules in order to limit players’ “exposures” on the field. What does that mean exactly? Well, according to reports, these changes are intended to protect player health, and could, in turn...

Get to know your new MLB rules

Leather is popping, grunts from a mound are being emitted, and GMs are already coming up with lame excuses in the sun — it must be spring training! Pitchers and catchers have reported in Florida and Arizona, and very soon there will be actual games played. They won’t count, of course, and will be ac...

Umpires will definitely handle being challenged well

Automatic strike zones, or ABS, or Robo-umps, have been the Valhalla for a certain section of baseball fans (one I happen to be a part of). Watching Angel Hernandez or Doug Eddings try and guess where the strike zone is today and then acting like the world’s biggest ass-boil when anyone points out t...

The best from the start

There’s an old hockey axiom that any young defenseman needs 200 games in the NHL to come into his own. Unlike most of the sport’s theories, which are usually grizzled old horseshit that everyone has just gone along with out of terror for ever rocking the boat in any way, it holds some water. It’s a ...

I could play this New York Times umpire game for hours

I love umpires. I don’t love to hate them like other baseball fans do, though. I’ve always leaned in the direction of leniency. I know that officiating in any sport is difficult, thankless, and downright hazardous to your health in some situations. Umpires get it the worst though, perhaps because th...

Chris Paul has another NBA rule change to get used to

At the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season, the rule changes were irksome to players used to getting touch fouls by lunging into unsuspecting defenders to draw contact and a whistle. Trae Young, Damian Lillard, and James Harden were just a few stars to sound off about the changes, but as the season ...